Shenfu Injection On Lung Ischemia Reperfusion Injury Apoptosis Protection Mechanisms

Objective To investigate the effect of Shenfu Injection (SF) on apoptosis during lung ischemia reperfusion injury (LIRI) in rats and to discuss the possible mechanism.Methods Unilateral lung in vivo ischemia reperfusion model in rats was established by clamping the left pulmonary hilum for 45 minutes and then releasing of 3, 6 hours, respectively. Forty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into three groups: sham operation group (Sh group), ischemia reperfusion group (IR group) and Shenfu injection group (SF group). Each group was further divided into two subgroups of 3 hours and 6 hours. Shenfu injection (10ml/kg) was intraperitoneally injected 30 minutes before ischemia in SF group. The apoptosis rate in lung tissue was detected by the analysis of Annexin-V-PI by flow cytometer. The expression of Caspase-3 in lung tissue was measured by immunohistochemical stain, and the mean optical density (OD) value of positive fields was examined quantitively using image analysis system. The concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were obtained. The morphological and ultrastructure changes in lung tissue were also observed.Results The apoptosis rate, the expression of Caspase-3 and the concentration of MDA of lung tissue in IR group were significantly higher than those in Sh group, while the activity of SOD was obviously lower (p<0.01). SF group has more significant changes than IR group (p<0.05). The pathological and ultrastructure changes were visible in SF group than those in IR group too.Conclusion Apoptosis plays a very important role for the pathogenesis of LIRI. SF treatment inhibits the apoptosis rate of lung tissue during LIRI, extenuates the degree of LIRI by the possible mechanism of decreasing the concentration of MDA and increasing the activity of SOD, then reducing the expression of Caspase-3 in early period of LIRI.